I had a nice chat with NFL legend Herschel Walker about a month ago, and he struck me like a dude that was well-aware of his abilities and limitations, even as a 48-year-old guy training for his second-ever pro mixed martial arts fight. But that judgement has gone out the window after Walker told FanHouse’s Mike Chiappetta that he could still play in the NFL. Oh, Herschel.

“I know I can play,” Walker said on a Monday conference call that was intended to promote his Jan. 29 Strikeforce MMA match. “If I continue to stay in the shape I’m in now, I know I can play when I’m 50. Right now, if you asked if I can play today, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind I can play football today, that I can help out a team today.

“I 100 percent guarantee you I can help a football team out,” Walker continued.

I’m chalking these comments up to pre-fight hype; his long-awaited match with Scott Carson will finally happen at the Strikeforce event in Miami on Saturday night, and he’s just reminding everyone that he’s the guy that used to play in the NFL. And I mean “long-awaited match” as in long-awaited by Carson and Walker, and almost certainly no one else.